It's been a bit quiet around here lately hasn't it? I feel bad because I can see that I have had a lot of new visitors - no doubt as a result of the Notebook article. If you've just found my blog hello!, and my apologies... take a look back at the archives to get a sense of the way things usually are around here.
I've been working hard in preparation for my class at The Craft Room on Saturday, Mathilda's Market on Sunday and The Stitches and Craft Show next week. Now I'm very excited to show you a couple of things that have been taking up my time... new things! I love creating new products and I've really enjoyed these. I debated whether I should wait to share these here after S&C, but I don't think I can hold off.
Ooshka is a babushka pattern kit which contains the sewing pattern and instructions, and a printed fabric face panel (my illustration, professionally printed on to fabric). There's also a face pattern so you can make more Ooshkas - like in the bottom image. My Ooshka is no shrinking violet, she's 42 centimeters tall. Or 16 inches if that's your thing. There are 3 different faces available: black hair, auburn and blond, some with flowers in their hair.
I'll be selling some Ooshka's that I've made at Mathilda's on Sunday, and will have the pattern kits at Stitches & Craft next week. When I get back from Melbourne the pattern kits will be available online, as well as additional printed face panels.
The other thing, which I'm really happy with, is my hello birdy pillow pattern. I'll be taking this pattern with me to S&C, and it will also be available online from about 11th May... I'll let you know when. The finished pillows are approximately 44 x 35 cm (or 18 x 13.5 inches).
The birdy in the top image was made using a vintage tablecloth and linen for the wing. And the birdy in the middle was made by Marina of Wink Designs who as usual has been a fantastic help testing my patterns and offering her wisdom.
Now you can see why I was doing so much blanket stitching last week - each wing piece on the 3 birds I made has blanket stitching all the way around it. The Ooshka's faces also have blanket stitch or running stitch around them. You can easily do it all on the machine with zig zag stitch if you prefer. I must say that I find hand sewing quite enjoyable and relaxing.
So as you can see, I'm getting there. Crossing things off my list. How's your week going?
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New Things!
Brown paper packages tied up with string... Flying Star Toys
Have you received an email to participate in one of those art exchanges? It's a version of a chain email where you post one of your creations to the person who's name you're given, then you send the email on to 6 people, who then send it on to 6 more people. If everyone who agrees to take part actually does take part you'll receive 36 lovely handmade gifts in the mail.
I did one of these lately and I was the lucky recipient of three lovely packages in the mail. The drop off rate was a bit disappointing( 3 out of 36!), but it was worth it to send some handmade love to a total stranger, and to receive my own FlockA2 from Florence of Flying Star Toys. The other things I received were a gorgeous hand felted flower from Karen in Brisbane and a beautiful photo from Krissa in Port Macquarie. Neither Karen or Krissa have an online presence, so I can't point you in their direction.
Florence Forrest (love her name) is the Brisbane based creator of my FlockA2 (cockatoo) which is part of a range of limited edition decorative art objects. Florence says that Flying Star Toys are designed for display rather than play - guardians rather than playmates - to be beautiful objects for the home.
all images from Flying Star ToysI'm in love with everything Florence makes (oh, those boats!). The quirky designs, quality of the materials and the attention to detail is what makes these creations stand out from the crowd. My FlockA2 is even weighted so that it stands independently. How lucky am I to have received one! You can get your own at The Flying Star Toys shops on Etsy and in Australian dollars here. Florence is also a fellow artist who's work is available from Udessi.
I can't wait to show you another brown paper package tied up with string that I received last week (unrelated to the art exchange), but I need to photograph it first. I've been a very spoilt girl
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Enjoy your weekend!
Having children in your life is a major and constant reminder of how quickly time goes by. Last night a friend emailed me this photo
It's Roxy when she was almost 2. She looks so sweet and tiny. And cuuuute! Now she's a big 6 year old at school. I can hardly believe it. Apart from making my heart melt, seeing this photo was a big reminder to me of how fast the days and months and years pass by. And how we need to - as corny as it sounds - cherish each moment because it won't come again.
I'm often in a whirlwind of lists, and projects and thinking about the next thing, next week, next month. This weekend I'm going to try to take a breath (at least once!), and stop to clear my mind of everything except the present moment. I mean really clear it.
What are your plans?
P.S. I know that I don't normally post photos of my beautiful girl on this blog, but I just couldn't help myself today.
Paper shoes... a bit of a non-post
Apologies for my absence over the past couple of days... I have too many things on my to do list. I'm really enjoying everything I'm making, but I'm hopping from one thing to the next feeling a bit unable to focus.
I've been procrastinating about what to post about that won't take me too long to put together and haven't come up with any genius ideas. So, being a lazy blogger today, I thought I'd show you some paper shoes I made last year. They were studies for something much bigger and quite exciting I am hoping to do. But those plans are on hold at the moment.
Peta from Mathilda's Market put together a really lovely post about my work yesterday, so if you have any interest at all in reading more about what I do (and who can blame you if you don't!) take a look here. Otherwise, check out the rest of Mathilda's blog to see the work of other crafty types and what's in store for the market in just over a week.
How's your week going? Are you managing to cross anything off your list of things to do? Do you even make lists? I can't survive without them. I love a good list.
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ban.do
I think I have a girl crush on Alison Sudol of A Fine Frenzy.
ban.do black label courture collection
Images: ban.do
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